Kyuki-do

[Ash_MT]

Hi all,

I'm new to martial arts in general, but have been a lurker on this forum for a while as they've always interested me. I started taking Kyuki-do classes recently and hadn't seen any posts on the forum about it, so I was curious if there were any other practitioners on the board.

Also, I'm looking to possibly put a little practice studio in my house with an unused room I have, anyone have any suggestions on good mats, and where to buy them from? Thanks in advance!

 

[shesulsa]

I have not, until this moment, ever heard of Kyuki-Do, so I googled it. Sounds like a combination martial art that incorprates Yudo, Tae Kwon Do, Hapkido. Would that be a fair assessment? I've also read that energy movement is essential - the idea being to issue forth a large amount of ki in the strike. Is that correct?

BTW - Welcome to Martial Talk!

 

[Ash_MT]

Yes, that would be correct as far as I understand(the combination of Judo, Tae Kwon Do and Hapkido). I don't know too much about ki as of yet(I've only been to 3 classes so far) but it has come up a little bit in what little training I've had.

Normally I probably would have been a little leery of joining a class I had never heard of before like that, but my friend highly reccomnded it, and the grandmaster is an 8th degree black belt in both Tae Kwon Do and Judo, so he has my full respect, to say the least.

Thanks for the welcome!

 

[Ceicei]

Royal West Martial Arts is a very well known school that have dojangs all over the place where I live. They practice Kyukido. (These dojangs also teach the styles of Tae Kwon Do, Hapkido, and Judo). Their students do well in competition and their techniques and forms are interesting. I've visited their schools.

If you like Kyukido, stick with it. It is a fun and interesting style, and supposedly well rounded by incorporating three distinct styles. Does your school also teach TKD, Hapkido, and Judo separately from Kyukido?

I haven't seen too many of those who study Kyukido here on MartialTalk, but that is bound to change as MT will continue to grow larger.

- Ceicei

 

[shesulsa]

Ash_MT:

Do you have any links or resources as to the history and lineage of Kyuki-Do? I would very much like to learn more about it.

Thanks!

 

[Ash_MT]

unfortunately not much the most I could find on the history comes from this page http://www.akfathens.com/about.html
The relevant text is:

"Kyuki-Do is a Korean martial art that primarily incorporates elements of Tae Kwon Do, Hapkido and Judo. Kyuki-Do was introduced to the United States in 1967 by Grand Master Ok Hyung Kim, the founder of the art. Grand Master Kim went on to found the American Kyuki-Do Federation (Kyuki-Do's sanctioning body) in 1979. Kyuki-Do is designed to be practical, versatile, and effective at a variety of different ranges and in a variety of different situations. The Tae Kwon Do - derived kicks and strikes provide excellent power at medium and long range, while the throws, locks, chokes and joint manipulation of Judo and Hapkido allow for effective close range fighting and grappling.

Kyuki-Do is a living, growing martial art that continues to expand and change. In addition to the core elements of Tae Kwon Do, Judo and Hapkido, Kyuki-Do also includes techniques from Jujitsu, Karate, boxing, wrestling, traditional weapons from Okinawa and the Philippines, and many other arts and styles.

Kyuki-Do is more than just an effective system of self defense; it is a martial art that encourages students to realize their own potential, both physically, mentally and spiritually. Students of Kyuki-Do learn discipline, self-control, patience, persistence and respect for themselves and others. Students are expected to continually strive to perfect themselves, both in the do jang, and in every other area of their life."


A google search on Ok Hyung Kim reveals lots of broken links

 

[Mithios]

AHHH, I have done some Kyuki-do myself. It is good stuff, alot of it will take you to the ground. Get some good mats! Mithios

 

[Hwoarang_tkd26]

Royal West Martial Arts is a very well known school that have dojangs all over the place where I live. They practice Kyukido. (These dojangs also teach the styles of Tae Kwon Do, Hapkido, and Judo). Their students do well in competition and their techniques and forms are interesting. I've visited their schools.

If you like Kyukido, stick with it. It is a fun and interesting style, and supposedly well rounded by incorporating three distinct styles. Does your school also teach TKD, Hapkido, and Judo separately from Kyukido?

I haven't seen too many of those who study Kyukido here on MartialTalk, but that is bound to change as MT will continue to grow larger.

- Ceicei

Ah yes, Royal West Martial Arts.
My school gets invited to their tournaments every year, and we compete at their tournaments every year.
They have some very talented students in their organization, I must say that they are quite impressive.
Although my school is the only school competing in the tournament that is not Kyukido, my instructor however is friends with Master West so he invites us to his tournament.
Hey Ceicei, were you there watching the tournament in Pleasant Grove? Because if you were there you might have seen me competing.

 

[akfathens]

Hi everyone,

This is Ken Blumreich, from AKF Athens Martial Arts in Athens, Georgia. Our web site was linked in Ash_MT's post above, which is how I found MartialTalk.com.

I am the head instructor at AKF Athens, and a third degree black belt in Kyuki-do. I wanted to make myself available to answer anyone's questions regarding this art.

I also wanted to explain that the reason why there is currently so little online information available regarding Kyuki-Do is because the American Kyuki-Do Federation website (located at kyuki-do.com) is currently undergoing complete reconstruction. I am not certain when the site will be active again, but hopefully it will be soon.

In the meantime, if I can answer any questions for anyone, I will be more than happy to do so. And I sincerely hope that if any of you have the opportunity to try Kyuki-Do out, you'll do so; Kyuki-Do is an excellent martial art, and (just as importantly) our Federation is home to many, many excellent, devoted and caring martial artists.

If any of you are ever in the Athens, Georgia area, please feel free to drop in at our Dojang and say hello!

Best regards to all,

Ken Blumreich
AKF Athens Martial Arts

 

[shesulsa]

Hello Mr. Blumreich.

I was curious if you could explain how Kyuki-do came about?

I am currently learning Korea's elite art from some former members of the WHRDA. The description I've seen as to style combination sounds much like HRD, so I'm fascinated to hear more.

Sincerely,

GK

 

[Ceicei]

Ah yes, Royal West Martial Arts.
My school gets invited to their tournaments every year, and we compete at their tournaments every year.
They have some very talented students in their organization, I must say that they are quite impressive.
Although my school is the only school competing in the tournament that is not Kyukido, my instructor however is friends with Master West so he invites us to his tournament.
Hey Ceicei, were you there watching the tournament in Pleasant Grove? Because if you were there you might have seen me competing.

Perhaps.... I've been to quite a few of their tourneys, but not recently. If you're going to one soon, let me know so I can get to meet you some day.

- Ceicei

 

[Ceicei]

Hi everyone,

This is Ken Blumreich, from AKF Athens Martial Arts in Athens, Georgia. Our web site was linked in Ash_MT's post above, which is how I found MartialTalk.com.

I am the head instructor at AKF Athens, and a third degree black belt in Kyuki-do. I wanted to make myself available to answer anyone's questions regarding this art.

I also wanted to explain that the reason why there is currently so little online information available regarding Kyuki-Do is because the American Kyuki-Do Federation website (located at kyuki-do.com) is currently undergoing complete reconstruction. I am not certain when the site will be active again, but hopefully it will be soon.

In the meantime, if I can answer any questions for anyone, I will be more than happy to do so. And I sincerely hope that if any of you have the opportunity to try Kyuki-Do out, you'll do so; Kyuki-Do is an excellent martial art, and (just as importantly) our Federation is home to many, many excellent, devoted and caring martial artists.

If any of you are ever in the Athens, Georgia area, please feel free to drop in at our Dojang and say hello!

Best regards to all,

Ken Blumreich
AKF Athens Martial Arts

Thank you for coming to MartialTalk. I'm glad you will be able to answer more questions about Kyukido. Would you be able to explain more about the founder and who he is? Like Ash_MT mentioned up thread, there are a lot of broken links that make it difficult to learn more about him.

- Ceicei

 

[akfathens]

Hi everyone,

I'm sorry it's taken me so long to respond back; I wanted to make certain to offer up as much information as I could. As any of you who googled Kyuki-Do found, our art does not maintain a very strong online presence, so I wanted to make certain that I made the most of this opportunity to tell you all about it. I hope you're ready for a long post. =)

From shesulsa:

"I was curious if you could explain how Kyuki-do came about?

I am currently learning Korea's elite art from some former members of the WHRDA. The description I've seen as to style combination sounds much like HRD, so I'm fascinated to hear more."


Shesulsa, I'm afraid that I'm not familiar enough with Hwa Rang Do to offer up an informed comparison between the two styles. I can tell you that, like HRD, Kyuki-Do is intended to be a "complete" martial art in that it incorporates distance fighting, close quarters fighting, joint locking, throwing and grappling.

Kyuki-Do was developed by Ok Hyung Kim, starting in 1967. As you know from the posts above, it is a synthesis style comprised primarily of Tae Kwon Do, Judo and Hapkido, with elements of other arts such as Jujitsu and Kobudo weapons training.

At the early ranks, Kyuki-Do is very similar to traditional Tae Kwon Do (as a matter of fact, until the late 90's we practiced the Chang-Hon/Chonji system of Tae Kwon Do forms. We now have our own Kyuki-Do forms, some of which may be found here: http://www.royalwestlehi.com/forms.htm). Hard-style, linear blocks, strikes and kicks form the foundation of our style.

As students progress in rank, the training begins to incorporate more and more elements of Judo and Hapkido… throws and pins as well as locks, chokes and bars. Many Kyuki-Do schools also offer separate classes in Judo, Jujitsu or Hapkido.


One of the primary strengths of Kyuki-Do (in my opinion) is that the art and the Federation remain flexible and receptive to new ideas while still maintaining a strong core of discipline, formality and loyalty to our particular art. The AKF continues to incorporate new techniques and skills while still remaining true to the fundamental principles of Kyuki-Do. Many of our instructors (and all of our Masters) hold black belts in additional arts, and exposure to new styles is viewed as an opportunity to learn rather than as a challenge.

Additionally, the synthesis of styles allows more advanced students of Kyuki-Do to "personalize" their particular style in order to highlight their personal strengths and minimize their particular weaknesses. As an example, an old knee injury has limited my kicking ability somewhat, so now I focus on moving inside an opponent's kicking range to engage with my hands or grapple.

I hope that answers some of the questions about what Kyuki-Do is and what it intended to accomplish from a practical perspective. On the philosophical side, the art is devoted to the positive development of the individual and the community, to the expression of truth and beauty in a physical medium, to the perfection of the student's character, and to a physical, mental and spiritual harmony.

Although we hold several large tournaments each year, we are not especially sport oriented, instead viewing the tournaments as an opportunity for different members of the Federation to come together and interact in a positive, fun and friendly manner. The Federation also holds several large gatherings each year (a summer picnic and a Christmas party), as well as multiple seminars on various topics.

And from Ceicei:

"Thank you for coming to MartialTalk. I'm glad you will be able to answer more questions about Kyukido. Would you be able to explain more about the founder and who he is? Like Ash_MT mentioned up thread, there are a lot of broken links that make it difficult to learn more about him."

An overview of Grand Master Kim's lineage (this information is from my instructor, Master Lloyd Holden, 6th Dan Kyuki-Do and 4th Dan Judo. Any errors or inconsistencies are undoubtedly the result of my sketchy note-taking skills):

Grand Master Kim is a native born Korean, born in Ahn Song in 1939. He began training in martial arts in 1949, and as an adult served in the Korean Navy and taught Judo, Karate and self defense to the US 8th Army in Korea.

In 1963 he graduated from the Korean Sports and Science College of Seoul (now called Yongin, the Yudo College). His degree was in physical education, and he went on to serve as an assistant instructor at the college.

In 1966 he was awarded his 5th Dan in Judo and in Tang Soo Do (from the Korean Judo Association and Korean Tang Soo Do Association respectively). In 1967 he came to the United States to teach martial arts, serving as the chief instructor at Elgin Judo and Karate (a subsidiary of the Military Arts Institute of Chicago).

In 1968 he graduated from George Williams College with a Masters in physical education. In this same year, he opened his own school (Kim's Black Belt Academy, teaching Tae Kwon Do and Judo) as well as teaching physical education at the Elgin Community College and serving on the promotional testing committee of the USJF.

In 1970 he was promoted to 6th Dan Tae Kwon Do by the Korean Tae Kwon Do Association. He was also a founding member of the American Tae Kwon Do Federation and served as their first secretary general. In 1974 he was promoted to 6th Dan in Judo by the Korean Judo Association, and in 1975 he was promoted to 7th Dan Tae Kwon Do by the ATF. In that same year he served as the first vice president of the ATF.

In 1976 he was promoted to 8th Dan by the ATF. This same year he left the ATF to begin the founding of the AKF (American Kyuki-Do Federation). It was three years later (in 1979) that the AKF was formally founded (this was the first year that the Federation held a Kyuki-Do tournament and began promoting students in Kyuki-Do as its own martial art).

In 1980, the AKF board of directors promoted him to 8th Dan, Grand Master in Kyuki-Do, and in 1985 the International Council on Martial Arts Education promoted him to 9th Dan in Tae Kwon Do.

From 1989 to 1991 Grand Master Kim served as the president of the Alumni Association of the Korean Sports and Science College. In 1990 he was promoted to 7th Dan Head Master in Judo by the KJA, and in 1992 the AKF board of directors promoted him to 9th Dan Grand Master in Kyuki-Do. He was awarded his 8th Dan in Judo (by the AKF) in, I believe 1994.

Grand Master Kim has traveled all over the world in his quest to promote and improve the martial arts. He places a tremendous emphasis on the importance of family, community and education, and this philosophy is reflected in every aspect of our art.

I may have missed some information there or made some mistakes on dates; most of this information was given to me word-of-mouth (from my instructor's notes on the upcoming Federation Handbook). In any case, that should provide a solid overview of Grand Master Kim's accomplishments and background.

Of course, all of the information I've provided is only a brief look at the art. I will be more than happy to answer additional questions or clarify anything that I may have overlooked.

Best regards to all of you, and thank you very sincerely for your interest and your questions!

Ken Blumreich

 

[Ash_MT]

Thanks for the info Ken And a special thanks for the link to the forms page!! That will be especially handy for me. I had been looking for the forms online, but most I found were forms from other systems with similar names but not real similar steps.

 

[akfathens]

Not a problem Ash_MT. As a side note, I strongly recommend using the written forms as a supplement to your classroom training, rather than as a primary source. Trying to learn hyung from paper is difficult and tends to result in errors that take a long time to correct.

I speak from experience on this... because I moved away from my instructor just as the new forms were being integrated, I ended up learning most of them off of paper and video... and then expending exorbitant amounts of time correcting the mistakes I'd made.

An even better supplement is the AKF Forms CD, which contains QuickTime videos of the first four forms being performed by Grand Master Kim, Grand Master Park, Head Master Scholtz and Master Bandala. Your instructor should have access to the CD.

Again though, the only way to initially learn the forms is under the instruction of someone who already knows them. Paperwork and videos will serve you well as a home study guide, but only once you know the forms.

You are currently training under Grand Master Park, correct?

Best,

Ken

 

[Ash_MT]

Yah, I don't think I'd try to learn any new forms just from the written text. I've just recently learned Kicho, so the text would be a nice supplement to make sure I'm doing them correctly at home.

That's correct, I'm fortunate enough to be training under Grand Master Park. I'll have to ask about the AKF Forms CD.

 

[dosandojang]

Kyuk Too Ki????

 

[akfathens]

Hi Dosandojang,

I'm not certain I understand your question, but Kyuki-Do translates as "spark or explosion" or, more completely, as "the way or the art of striking with energy."

Best,

Ken

 

[Ceicei]

Ken,

What is the philosophy of Kyuki-do? Are there creeds or sayings that may summarize the art's philosophy? Thank you.

- Ceicei

 

[akfathens]

Hi Ceicei,

We use many of the same tenets and philosophical elements as are found in traditional Tae Kwon Do. Our student pledge is as follows:

I shall respect my instructor and all senior ranks.
I shall conduct myself in a respectful manor.
I shall respect the teachings of Kyuki-Do and never misuse them.
I shall always respect the rights of others.
I shall strive for peace and camaraderie in the world.

Our primary tenets include:

Courtesy
Humility
Integrity
Perseverance
Self Control
Indomitable Spirit

The stated purpose of Kyuki-Do is "to create individuals who are physically and mentally progressive and productive, and who are aware of their physical, mental and moral obligations to themselves and others." The philosophy is "doing your best for all."

Further, as in Tae Kwon Do or Karate, the ultimate goal of the art lies neither in victory nor in defeat, but in the perfection of the character of its participants.

Additionally, Kyuki-Do strives to develop students both spiritually, mentally and physically. Education, strong family ties, service to your community, tolerance and love for all of humanity, and the improvement of character are strongly stressed.

Master Wayne Steinmetz gave a brief speech at the end of my promotion to third dan. I don't have the exact words, so I'll have to paraphrase, but it was something like this:

"Anyone can learn to punch or kick. We could take anyone off of the street and teach them how to punch or kick. It isn't special. It isn't a miracle. What is more important is the spark you carry inside you that causes you to take your knowledge and do something positive and productive with it."

That, to me, is a good summary of the philosophy of Kyuki-Do: that we have a responsibility as martial artists to use our knowledge to improve the world around us.

Hope that answers your questions!

Best,

Ken